Iran summons Swiss envoy to protest US seizure of Iranian oil cargo

Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned the chargé d'affaires of Switzerland, which represents Washington’s interests in Tehran, to protest the US seizure of Iranian oil cargo from a Russian-operated ship in Greece's territorial waters.

“The Swiss chargé d'affaires was summoned to convey Iran’s concern and strong protest over the continued violation of international laws and maritime conventions concerning free navigation and trade by the US administration,” the director-general of the ministry's department for American Affairs, said in a statement on Friday.

The ministry also demanded the immediate release of the seized ship and its confiscated cargo.

The Swiss envoy, according to the statement, assured that he would convey Iran’s message to American officials.

Earlier, on Wednesday, Iran's foreign ministry had summoned the Greek chargé d'affaires to lodge its protest over the same matter.

The ministry officials condemned Greece’s "unacceptable" surrender to "illegal" US pressures and said the "seizure of the cargo of the ship" with the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran was "an example of international piracy."

In a Thursday report, Reuters news agency cited unnamed sources saying the US Department of Justice had confiscated 700,000 barrels of Iranian oil cargo seized last month off the southern Greek island of Evia onboard a Russian-operated ship.

Iranian authorities have said they will hold the Greek government responsible for the confiscation of crude.

It is the second time the US has confiscated Iranian oil outside its territorial waters on trumped-up charges brought by American courts. 

SS